Equities Slump as Oil, Global Yields Surge; Rupee Near Record Low

An end-of-day recap of all that transpired in the Indian markets, highlighting the major price movements and the factors driving them

Amey Bane/iStockphoto.com

By Dehuti Jani

October 8, 2026 at 12:55 PM IST

The benchmark Sensex fell to its lowest level in 32 months on Thursday as surging crude oil prices, rising global bond yields and a weak rupee heightened inflation concerns after the Reserve Bank of India took on a hawkish stance at its monetary policy review a day earlier.

The Nifty50 fell 1.64% to 22,231.80, its lowest close in 18 months, while the Sensex declined 1.44% to 71,593.24. The Nifty 50 and Sensex have now slipped back into oversold territory.

All 16 major sectoral indices ended lower, while the Nifty MidCap 100 and Nifty SmallCap 100 fell 2.5% and 2.3%, respectively. Nifty Metal, Nifty Realty and Nifty Oil & Gas were among the worst-performing sectors, while India VIX surged more than 10%, signalling a sharp increase in expected market volatility.

HDFC Bank, ICICI Bank and Reliance Industries fell 1.5%, 0.6% and 2.5%, respectively. Adani Enterprises and JSW Steel were the top Nifty 50 laggards, while Infosys and Axis Bank managed marginal gains.

Foreign investors stepped up selling, offloading a net ₹469.9 billion over nine sessions and taking the year-to-date outflows to a record $30.4 billion. Brent crude jumped 4% to above $104 a barrel, raising concerns over persistent inflation and weighing on risk assets.

The rupee ended nearly flat at 96.78 per US dollar, close to its record low of 96.96 reached in May. Likely intervention by the Reserve Bank of India and dollar sales by state-run banks helped prevent the currency from testing the record low despite higher oil prices and weakness in Asian currencies.

Government bond yields rose sharply as crude oil prices and US Treasury yields climbed, while short positions ahead of Friday's weekly gilt auction added to the selling pressure. The benchmark 6.94%, 2036 bond yield ended at 7.2868% from 7.2410% on Wednesday after touching a session high of 7.2931%, its highest level since December 2023.

Top Movers of the Day

CreditAccess Grameen rose 1.48% to ₹1,258.00, outperforming in a sharply weak market. The surge in shares was due to recently reported steady net sales growth.

PNB Housing Finance gained 1.95% to ₹1,153, largely driven by positive sentiment following its recent AAA/Stable credit rating upgrade by CRISIL and broader momentum in housing finance stocks.

Bajaj Consumer Care rose 1.44% to ₹489.95 ahead of its Q2 FY27 results. The board will meet on October 14, 2026, to approve unaudited standalone and consolidated results for the quarter and half-year ended September 30, 2026.

ICICI Lombard General Insurance rose 1.51% to ₹1,614 on buying interest in financial and insurance stocks. Trading above its 5- and 20-day EMAs, the stock drew technical momentum and nearly 8.95 lakh shares were traded today.

Infosys closed with marginal gains, up 0.50% at ₹997 as the Nifty IT index bucked the broader negative trend to remain the sole sectoral index in the green.

Axis Bank managed to end marginally higher at ₹1,246.60 up 0,33%, extending positive momentum from its recent strong July-September quarter business update. The private sector bank reported a strong 23% year-on-year increase in gross advances.

Adani Green Energy tumbled 7.52% to ₹1,240.50 amid intense selling pressure across the broader Adani Group conglomerate.

Adani Enterprises plunged 5.58% to ₹2,590, emerging as one of the top Nifty 50 laggards as the market rout deepened.

Adani Ports and Special Economic Zone declined 2.98% to ₹1,698, tracking the broader market crash as Brent crude oil prices crossed the $104 per barrel mark.

Engineers India dropped 6.20% to ₹289.20, tracking the heavy selling in the broader midcap and smallcap segments amid weak global cues, and a sharp spike in US Treasury yields to 19-year highs.

GE Power India fell 5.46% to ₹660, weighed down by cautious investor sentiment and higher global bond yields.

Futures & Options
The Nifty October 2026 futures closed at 22,275, a premium of 43.2 points over the Nifty 50's cash-market close of 22,231.80. The Nifty 50 fell 371.25 points, or 1.64%, during the session, while the NSE's India VIX, a gauge of expected near-term volatility, jumped 10.38% to 15.33.

HDFC Bank, Infosys and ITC were the most-traded individual stock futures contracts in the NSE's F&O segment. The October 2026 F&O contracts will expire on 27 October 2026.

Bonds
Indian government bond yields rose as crude oil and US Treasury yields surged, and traders added short positions before Friday’s gilt auction. The benchmark 6.94%, 2036 yield climbed to 7.2868% from 7.2410%, after hitting 7.2931%, its highest level since December 2023. Brent crude rose from about $100 to around $104 a barrel, while the 10-year US Treasury yield topped 5.34%, up more than 4 basis points, pressuring domestic bonds.

Traders built short positions ahead of Friday’s 360-billion-rupee bond auction. Selling was heavier in the 7.06%, 2041 bond, with 230 billion rupees on offer; its yield was 7.4746% and could rise another 3 basis points on weak demand.

Forex
The Indian rupee remained on the defensive on Thursday, pressured by a jump in oil prices and tracking weak Asian currencies, although likely intervention by the Reserve Bank of India helped prevent the currency from testing its record lows.

The rupee ended nearly flat at 96.78 per US dollar, within striking distance of its all-time low of 96.96 reached in May. Elevated oil prices, surging developed-market bond yields and weak capital flows have pushed the rupee down more than 7% against the dollar this year, among the weakest performances in the region. Persistent RBI intervention has provided some support, but traders do not yet see a case for turning bullish on the currency.

Crypto
The cryptocurrency market cap fell more than 4% to $2.83 trillion on Thursday as rising crude oil prices and higher US Treasury yields intensified macroeconomic pressure and triggered a wave of derivatives liquidations.

Bitcoin fell around 1.6% to $82,800, breaking below the $83,000 level and raising concerns over a move towards the $80,000 psychological support. Ethereum declined nearly 3% to $2,565, approaching a key technical support level, while major altcoins posted steeper losses.

US Stock Futures
US stock futures fell early Thursday after the S&P 500 retreated from its record high in the previous session as a surge in Treasury yields weighed on equities. Dow Jones Industrial Average futures fell 0.26%, while S&P 500 futures declined 0.15% and Nasdaq-100 futures slipped 0.21%.

Levi Strauss shares fell nearly 2% in extended trading after the denim retailer lowered its full-year revenue growth guidance, although it raised its profit outlook.

US Treasury Notes
US Treasury note yields remained near multidecade highs on Wednesday as the global sovereign bond sell-off continued, with persistent inflation concerns and elevated oil prices keeping pressure on longer-dated debt. The benchmark 10-year Treasury yield traded around 5.33% after touching a 24-year high of 5.364%, while the 30-year yield rose to near 5.71%, a level last seen in 2002.

Yields eased from their session highs after a well-received $39 billion 10-year Treasury auction provided some relief to the market. However, the broader sell-off and a bear-steepening yield curve continued to keep pressure on global financial markets.

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Equities Slump as Oil, Global Yields Surge; Rupee Near Record Low